Huge Railway Station Opens In Beijing

Chinese leaders opened Asia’s largest railway station Sunday - a $720 million project aimed at easing congestion in the capital.

After Premier Li Peng cut a ceremonial ribbon, a train with a portrait of revolutionary leader Mao Tse-tung embossed in metal on its locomotive left Beijing Western Railway Station on a run to a suburb 12 miles to the south.

The station, a key project of China’s recently completed eighth five-year plan, took 20,000 workers three years to complete. According to official reports, it covers 5.5 million square feet.